Interests

Why are all the end quests in Avernum 2 so ridiculously hard? I managed to finish all three game-winning quests for Avernum: EftP with an ending level of 29 on normal...
Anyway, I'm in the Portal Fortress, and I have found the key located on the east side of the fortress. I then tried to go to the west side of the fortress (because it said the portal was located in the west wing) using the secret entrance, which was no problem, but then I entered the room with a bunch of Vahnahtai Masters and 2 named crystal worker mages, and those two mages deal like 70-120 damage per attack (on Normal--each!) and have a very high amount of health. Do any of you have any tips for this area?
I have 1 dual spellcaster, a tank that using polearms, a dual-wielding ninja (has skill with thrown missiles and some dex in addition to strength and melee weapon competency), and a priest archer (high dex; mainly a support role). All 4 party members are level 27, and I have already maxed hardiness on both my warriors (the ninja and the tank). My dual spellcaster and priest have trained in resistance, although they aren't quite maxed yet. (And yes, my dual-spellcaster has adrenaline rush as well as my tank and my ninja...)
Obviously, I'm approaching the level cap, but I feel that the game-winning quests are a bit ridiculously tough compared to A:EftP especially considering I'm playing on Normal. (And no, reducing the difficulty is hardly an option because 1) I miss out on the medal and 2) It will suck the fun out of the game because I will easily kill everything). (So far, I've only managed to rescue one of the Crystal Souls.... I don't know where one of them is, and the other in Angierach... That's a ridiculously tough quest as well....)

Hi,
I'd like to ask if any of You have ran into a similar problem before and how could it be solved:
Area I want to visit has only 2 patches of shore land. Both of those spaces are occupied by wandering monsters, thus I cannot exit the boat to battle them and explore the area. Is there a way to "delete" wandering monsters? (I know I would have zero problem defeating them anyways)
I'm trying to complete the "Investigate Tower" mission.
- Ani